Gears of Time
by midnathething
Summary: It took Lizzy a while to remember, but when she finally did she just wished she could just forget again. Partner story to The Gears of Midford.


**Authors Note: I wrote this in an attempt to kill the writers block that's currently hanging over me. It was still a pain to write. I've been trying to get this written while still sounding decent for a month or two and let me say, I did not enjoy it. Anyhow, this is a partner story to The Gears of Midford from Lizzy's point of view, please enjoy.**

**I don't own Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler).**

**-Midnathething**

Elizabeth Midford lived in the Phantomhive manor for the same reason as the servants, to hide.

She'd began living there shortly after Ciel's death. It was around the time of the Phantomhive boy's death that Lizzy first realized something was wrong, or maybe that was when she'd finally admitted to herself that something _might _be wrong. Either way, it was around then that she began to realize the truth.

It was almost five years after Ciel's death when she remembered that fateful night in December, the night her life had been forever changed.

Looking at her, she appeared just as human as anyone else. She looked so human that _even she_ forgot what she was for a while. Lizzy would always remember the time when she couldn't remember as a dream-like trance, one she often wished she could return to.

After all, during that time she'd at least been able to _pretend_ to be human.

If she was asked to pinpoint the moment her world shattered, she'd probably say it had been around the first time she'd encountered her friend Grell.

Tanaka's death was the event that started the ball rolling.

After his death everyone in the manor had been feeling a bit down so Lizzy decided to make her first permanent renovation to the Phantomhive manor. She'd went into London and, with the help of an odd man called The Undertaker, given Tanaka a proper burial. Lizzy was able to avoid the Undertaker's strange looks and ignore his random fits of giggling long enough to place a grave by the entrance of the manor.

After The Undertaker had left, Elizabeth had decided the grave was still missing something so she placed Tanaka's favorite tea cup by the tombstone, insisting he'd still want it where ever he ended up when questioned about it.

While the blond had been able to ignore the odd looks from The Undertaker, Grell breaking into the Phantomhive manor was something she'd been forced to face head on. Grell breaking in ended up being the trigger for her memories.

It had been the middle of the night while Elizabeth was sleeping, something she realized later on she had no need for, when she'd heard something downstairs break. Still in her nightgown with a sword clutched in one hand, Lizzy went downstairs to investigate.

Calling her first meeting with Grell life-changing would be an understatement.

Lizzy cautiously slipped into the main hall, holding her sword ready to strike should the need arise. Her head snapped to the left when she heard a giggle from that direction. The blond was greeted by the sight of Grell Sutcliff sitting on a chandelier, holding what Elizabeth suspected had been one of Sebastian's gloves.

"Who goes there?" She demanded loudly, pointing the sword in the redhead's direction.

The redhead sighed. "Who are you and why are you in that Phantomhive brat's house? Where's Sebastian?"

Lizzy bit her lip, frowning. She knew she'd heard that voice before... Somewhere... Just outside her memory's grasp... With a gasp, Lizzy's sword clattered to the ground and she grabbed her head as memories exploded back within her grasp as she remembered.

She didn't just remember one or two things, she remembered the whole night. Lizzy remembered being kidnapped, taken to the puppet shop, carved open, transformed from human to puppet, _everything_. The blond was vaguely aware that the redhead had moved to her side and was saying something but she couldn't make out anything other than a slightly concerned tone.

When the pain in her head finally lessened enough for her to think clearly, Elizabeth looked to her hand slowly. "I... I'm not human?" She opened and closed her fist a few times. "But I thought... I felt..." The girl felt the urge to cry and found herself unable to. Puppets didn't have tears to shed.

To Grell's credit, she tried to comfort Lizzy as the puppet-girl remembered. Grell learned on that day that grim reapers weren't the best at comforting people.

When Elizabeth finally felt calm again she looked at Grell carefully. "You were there, that night, weren't you? You helped Ciel and Sebastian save me. Thank you, you'll be welcome here in the future." The blond said with a small bow.

The redhead sighed. "That's nice and all, but _where are_ Sebastian and Ciel?"

"Ciel... Died..." The girl took a deep breath even though the action was unnecessary. "At least, that was the story. Ciel died and Sebastian vanished. Looking back now though, it seems more likely that the two left and went somewhere together." The more Lizzy thought about it the more likely it seemed, it would be a very Phantomhive thing of Ciel to have done, faking his own death.

"So you're saying that if I visit from time to time, there's a chance I'll find Sebastian and Ciel here?" The grim reaper asked thoughtfully.

Lizzy nodded.

"That settles it then! I'll visit from time to time, maybe help you out sometime if you take over Ciel's job as queen's guard dog." Grell declared with a smile.

Lizzy smiled. "I'll look forward to your visits, maybe Baldroy will have even figured out how to cook by the next time you visit."

True to her word, Grell did visit many times over the next forty-five years.

Lizzy remembered Grell's visits fondly, but they'd never quite compare to the day Ciel and Sebastian returned.


End file.
